"Magnificent Andy Boy" will have honorary status at UTSA’s Spring Game

A very special guest with a big dream will attend UTSA’s Spring Game on Saturday. Andres “Andy” Pardo, a wonderful 6 year old boy who is a huge sports fan, loves the Roadrunners, and has a dream…to be famous.

Andy and his mother attended spring open practice on Friday of the 3rd week, and watched the excitement from the sidelines. On Saturday, he will be an honorary member of the football team. Andy will get to ride the bus to the Alamodome with the football players, hang with the guys in the locker room, then Senior DT Ashaad Mabry will carry him out on to the field when the game starts. Andy will then watch the game from the comforts of the press box, and will finish his wonderful day signing autographs along with the football players. (Make sure you stop and see him!)

He has been to Spurs games, met Tim Duncan and Tony Parker, attended ice hockey games, and played football with the Mays YMCA Young Texans Football League in north San Antonio. (At all events he arrived via stretch limos!!) He even asked Erin Nichols, news reporter for Fox 29 and WOAI out on a date. He brought her a beautiful red rose, and took her to Wing Stop for some buffalo wings and sodas. He attended the student led FTK (For The Kids) Dance Marathon at UTSA, where he and other kids danced their hearts out. Oh, and he’s a huge Marvel cartoon super-hero fan. And guess what? The real Captain America, Chris Evans, sent him a personal video message.

So, why does he have this dream to be famous? This sweet 6 year old little boy has two forms of cancer. One is osteosarcoma, which affected his left leg, and lung cancer. The doctors recently told the family it is terminal cancer. As any good mother would do, when your child comes to you with a dream or hope, you want to fulfill it! With this diagnosis, his family wants these months to be the absolute best they can be for him. I encourage you to ‘like’ his Facebook page, ‘Magnificent Andy Boy’. He is such a cute character. I can’t wait to see how excited he is, and get to personally give him a hug.